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PURPOSE To investigate the prevalence and impact of ganglion cell layer cysts (GCLC) in patients with diabetic macular oedema (DME) under continuous anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy. METHODS The clinical findings and spectral domain optical coherence devices of baseline visits and follow-up after 12-24 and 36 months of DME patients under continuous anti-VEGF therapy were retrospectively collected and analysed for the impact of GCLC cysts. Previously established prognostic parameters were also assessed. RESULTS A total of 110 eyes of 110 DME patients (mean age 64 ± 10 years) were included. At baseline, 17% eyes had GCLC. With GCLC, the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improvement was in mean 8.4 ± 2.4 Early-Treatment-Diabetic-Retinopathy-Study (ETDRS) letters less over the course of 36 months compared to the group lacking GCLC (p = 0.0009). Eyes with GCLC showed 68 ± 23.4 μm less central retinal thickness (CRT) decrease than eyes lacking GCLC (p

PURPOSE To identify the prevalence and progression of macular atrophy (MA) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients under long-term anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy and to determine risk factors. METHOD This retrospective study included patients with neovascular AMD and ≥30 anti-VEGF injections. Macular atrophy (MA) was measured using near infrared and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Yearly growth rate was estimated using square-root transformation to adjust for baseline area and allow for linearization of growth rate. Multiple regression with Akaike information criterion (AIC) as model selection criterion was used to estimate the influence of various parameters on MA area. RESULTS Forty-nine eyes (47 patients, mean age 77 ± 14) were included with a mean of 48 ± 13 intravitreal anti-VEGF injections (ranibizumab:37 ± 11, aflibercept:11 ± 6, mean number of injections/year 8 ± 2.1) over a mean treatment period of 6.2 ± 1.3 years (range 4-8.5). Mean best-corrected visual acuity improved from 57 ± 17 letters at baseline (= treatment start) to 60 ± 16 letters at last follow-up. The MA prevalence within and outside the choroidal neovascularization (CNV) border at initial measurement was 45% and increased to 74%. Mean MA area increased from 1.8 ± 2.7 mm(2) within and 0.5 ± 0.98 mm(2) outside the CNV boundary to 2.7 ± 3.4 mm(2) and 1.7 ± 1.8 mm(2) , respectively. Multivariate regression determined posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) and presence/development of intraretinal cysts (IRCs) as significant factors for total MA size (R(2) = 0.16, p = 0.02). Macular atrophy (MA) area outside the CNV border was best explained by the presence of reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) and IRC (R(2) = 0.24, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION A majority of patients show MA after long-term anti-VEGF treatment. Reticular pseudodrusen (RPD), IRC and PVD but not number of injections or treatment duration seem to be associated with the MA size.

Purpose Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (AION) is a common cause of vision loss and is characterized by degeneration of the optic nerve and retinal ganglion cells. Recently, inflammation has been proposed to play a role in the course of AION, and we wanted to investigate the contribution of circulating and/or resident microglia. Methods We examined the role of macrophages in the course of AION, employing an in vivo murine model of laser-induced AION. AION was induced in BALB/c mice and three and six days after, OCT was performed and the number of infiltrating cells in the vitreous body was quantified. Bone marrow chimeras were generated using bone marrow derived cells that express GFP under the promoter of CX3CR1, specifically labelling macrophages. Cells were injected intravenously in lethally irradiated BALB/c mice which were subjected to AION two weeks later. Three and seven days after the AION induction, the eyes were subjected to OCT. The mice were euthanized at day 7 and their eyes were prepared for immunohistochemical studies against GFP and Iba-1. FACS analysis of the retina was also performed in AION subjected BALB/c mice 3, 7 and 14 days after AION induction. Results Three and six days after AION induction, quantification of the OCT data showed a statistically significant elevation of infiltrating cells in the vitreous of AION subjected eyes compared to control eyes. This finding was substantiated by FACS analysis. The chimeras experiments revealed infiltration of circulatory macrophages into the retina. Conclusions Our data support a role of circulating and/or resident macrophages in the course of AION.